John Grisham wanted to become a baseball player while he was growing up in Arkansas. But he became an attorney and a politician instead. He went to Mississippi State University to major in Accounting, then to Ole Miss Law School before settling down into the fast paced business of criminal and personal injury law. For seven years he also served in the State House of Representatives in Mississippi.
Of course, an attorney in his fields would hear some interesting stories. But John Grisham expanded on his experiences. He found time in his busy schedule to write about them. His hobby became a new career. I’m glad, because I love to read his work.
Most of his writing is fiction, though he has completed a nonfiction book as well. He’s written 20 novels to date. Of all those nine have been turned into movies. But I like his books better than the movies. Most of his novels are related to his lawyer years and I like those best, though Skipping Christmas is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.
John Grisham is one of my favorite novelists for three reasons. I love his characters. He creates wonderful plots. Best of all he tells a good story. Of course he does other things well. His scenes are well painted for example. But the characters that he writes about are so lifelike that I can picture them in their scenes. That makes a great book in my opinion. The first three stories I read by him were about a young male lawyer, a young boy and a young female law student. They all came to life under Mr. Grishams’ expert storytelling.
The plots that his characters meander through are realistic, though they clearly are not usual. I like the fact that as a reader I might start at a new job or be a full time law student or just a kid out smoking with his bothersome little brother. His books begin with a normal setting that I can walk into without hesitance. Even after the twist in the plot leads me through a murder or the discovery of crime the city streets are normal with everyday people walking down them.
Mr. Grisham knows how to tell the tales masterfully, with just the right voice and level of suspense to keep the reader turning pages long after they should have gone to sleep. They’re set in realistic places with realistic people dealing with unusual circumstances that they’ve stumbled into.
I also admire John Grisham for personal reasons. Though I’ve never met him he presents the image of a busy, charitable family man. I admire all of those features. Despite his busy lawyer life he plugged away at his first book without any assurance of sales. In fact, he had to do some marketing on his first book to make it sell. But his determination paid off and any writer can be encouraged by his success.
There are a lot of great fiction writers out there. I enjoy several of them particularly. John Grisham is my favorite. He writes well and tells a great story. I look forward to his next book!